The old order changes

[Harbinger]

:: Alison smirked a bit, as Xavier seemed to be saluting her with a glass of hemlock he poured, before pulling it away from her and DOWNING IT HIMSELF!?::

:: Her colbalt blue eyes widen::

XAVIER!

What have you DONE!?

MORTALS CAN'T DRINK HEMLOCK!

:: She shouts. She was prepared for the WORST. He would DIE WITHIN MINUTES of injesting the magickal drink. She was ready to try reviving him, but even with her potions, it was doubtful she could save him from the eternal "sleep".::

:: Was this REALLY happening!?::


:: All the times she had taunted Haleigh or even Nicolas by offering each of THEM a glass of hemlock in the past...even when she considered slipping some in DELILAH'S drink in recent weeks, she never gave thought to a non magick user drinking it in front of her...that would be committing SUICIDE!::

....

...he's....STILL ALIVE. He's not showing any signs of distress!

:: She remained across from him...her look of horror turned into one of confusion::

You...you're not DYING!

But that IS real Hemlock! Ava ALWAYS keeps a few bottles with her!

How is this possible!?

:: Staring at Xavier in disbelief, NOW she looked at him suspiciously.::

 

[Tachyon]

Hysterics. So she DID care...AWWWWW.

After staring dead solid at her through her entire tirade, he finally began to crack....

:: She remained across from him...her look of horror turned into one of confusion::

You...you're not DYING!

But that IS real Hemlock! Ava ALWAYS keeps a few bottles with her!

How is this possible!?

:: Staring at Xavier in disbelief, NOW she looked at him suspiciously.::

Now he was chuckling audibly, but he decided not to take it too far. She already had issues with trust and he found it unseemly to cross over into THAT particular area for sport.

Don't worry, Alison. Hemlock is magical as you well know. That magic makes someone like you tipsy and someone like most everyone else dead. For some reason, it doesn't work on me. Nothing magical does. AND I can use magical things just fine...weird really. So to be hemlock is an interesting drink that does me no good...OR harm. I am sorry if I gave you TOO good a fright but I could not help it, you teasing me with it and all.

Xavier replaced the flute, grabbing his fresh drink and downing it as he met the eyes of Alison, who was still deciding what to think. He spoke again.

That is what caught my attention with you. Most witches want to zap me or turn me into something dreadful but you...you can do things that affect even me. I find that FAScinating. To be honest, I find YOU fascinating, assume I survive you.

Xavier chuckled again as he drank his vodka down, still capturing Alison's gaze as he allowed the revelation to sink in...

 

[Harbinger]

:: Alison's mouth opened wide with shock...and then closed as she looked rather ANGRY! Did He just....play a TRICK on her!? Her own breathing was rapid but she LISTENED as Xavier explained his rather unique resistance to magick AND his ability injest hemlock. He had demonstrated knowledge of the occult and antiquity, and NOW he revealed that he had an exceptional level of resistance to magick AND could survive hemlock? he was DEFINITELY more than a pretty face, but for every moment he made himself more appealing, he threatened to WRECK his growing MOMENTUM with Alison with this STUNT he just pulled!:: ::

:: After he FINISHED? She continued to stare::

Xavier...

:: SLAP!::

That was NOT FUNNY!

:: Her colbalt blue eyes flashed with anger::

And honestly, I can see WHY other witches WOULD want to do terrible things to you! You deserve MORE than that slap...and you're right, I'm one witch who CAN "VEX" YOU!

:: Exhaling, she looked at him before slowly settling and sitting back::

:: She expressed genuine concern because she thought he'd just KILLED HIMSELF for some inexplicable reason! HE may have thought it was all in fun, but after what she'd been through in recent weeks? To have someone TRICK her into expressing any sort of EMOTION that she wouldn't normally display to them!? He could have bought himself a WORLD of hurt, just like Vivica had come close to doing::

Xavier...I REALLY don't like what you just did and honestly? My FIRST instinct was to send you FLYING OVER the balconies outside!

:: rolling her eyes and shutting them, frowning::

Still...your approach, unorthodox as it has been from the START, is one of the reasons why I'm here NOW.

But BE WARNED, that was your PASS for the night. Next time? You WON'T live long enough to say "OUCH!"

:: She sighs, slowly pouring herself another drink and letting her hand rest on the table. Xavier could see that she WAS genuinely ANGRY at first, but she calmed herself. He didn't know the ROOT of this deep anger, but he'd seen it earlier as well and even HE recognized her need to enjoy good company. Hopefully, he would keep that in mind, since she hadn't LEFT the clubhouse after that little stunt he just pulled ::

:: The house DJ plays crowd stirring dance track that is fitting for the grown and sexy crowd in the VIP club house::

Come on. You can TRY to redeem yourself on the dance floor.

:: The DJ calls for the steppers and line dancers to take their places and as the group, with Alison and Xavier among them, begins to dance, the DJ calls out steps for them to perform::

You might be FAST on your feet, but do you have any FOOT WORK to match?

:: The title of the song, and the mood of the evening seemed to match!::


:: Alison had shown she could dance and "trip the light fantastic" many times in the past at "fash bashes" hosted by Illustra or at XS. It had been so long since she'd DANCED in NYC and been able to ENJOY herself!::

:: The DJ shouts her and a few others who are doing a marvelous job of keeping up with his dance calls as the song plays.::

 

[Tachyon]

::

Xavier...

:: SLAP!::

He saw it coming a mile away. He could have dodged. But, he HAD been a bit tough on the lass considering how she took it and besides, nothing spiced up a night on the town like a good slap.

That was NOT FUNNY!

:: Her colbalt blue eyes flashed with anger::

And honestly, I can see WHY other witches WOULD want to do terrible things to you! You deserve MORE than that slap...and you're right, I'm one witch who CAN "VEX" YOU!

:: Exhaling, she looked at him before slowly settling and sitting back::

Xavier held up his hands in mock surrender.

OK, I pushed a bit far with my joke and that was hard on ya I get it. But you flaunted that hemlock without thinking that someone might take the bait one day, right? Just think about it....in the meantime, accept my humblest apologies.

He realized as she continued that she actually...gave a damn. And she REALLY did not want to, somehow felt she could not afford to do the simplest bit of concern. Damned shame to have to feel that way and he felt even more strongly that she deserved a good time. And he would do his best to avoid poking the bear from now on, at least for the evening,

The music began and she began to move to the beat. Good to see, more than a few Yanks girls could only shake their bottoms. She seemed to be able to actually FEEL the music.

Come on. You can TRY to redeem yourself on the dance floor.

:: The DJ calls for the steppers and line dancers to take their places and as the group, with Alison and Xavier among them, begins to dance, the DJ calls out steps for them to perform::

You might be FAST on your feet, but do you have any FOOT WORK to match?

My dear, I suspect you will be MORE than pleasantly surprised with what I can do!

Xavier STUDIED culture, in all its forms, through time. And his gifts enabled him to be very well versed. And so he was as much at home on a dance floor as he was at an archaeological dig, or pulling the heart from a killing machine. He matched Alison's moves and added some of his own pizzazz as he took her mind off her troubles.

 

[Harbinger]

From here to there

:: After some dancing and another round of drinks, Alison and Xavier were now out on one of the fire pit balconies. There was a breeze in the air, causing Alison's blue/black hair to flow a bit, but she didnt mind the chill at all::

:: Almost a dozen floors ABOVE her, her baby brother was having his long awaited reunion with Black Widow. Their story reached back to the very beginning of the Six and this was something that they needed to address. ::


:: Cameron and Alison would always be aware of each other, no matter where they were and once upon a time, that constant "presence" was uneappealing to one or BOTH of them. NOW neither one of them could imagine it being any other way! Still, in this night,
Cameron didn't need his big sister to WATCH over him. What was coming, he could handle on his own.::

:: She looked over at Xavier. He HAD been good company, a great distraction and discovery::

:: And despite his unusual ways, he displayed sensitivity where it mattered. That resonated with Alison::

Xavier, it has beeen quite fun this evening...

:: She looks away, before holding out her hand and TELEBLINKING HIM into her GRASP as she holds him by his collar::

But i DO think you get a little too big for your britches and that you're NOT accustomed to someone who can KEEP UP with you!

:: walking forward, forcing him to walk back, she casually pushes him down into a chair and stands over him::

Your quick thinking and ability to reason earn you favor, but DON'T think that your CHARM will allow you to bowl ME over!

Let's go somewhere....ELSE. My secret garden, perhaps?

:: glowing, blue/black orbs swirl around them BOTH and soon, they "BLINK" out of the Hotel and reappear in a place that is "somewhere" and yet NOWHERE at the same time. The curious enchanted forest where Hecate had gifted Harbinger with the time staff. It was a place much like Minerva's Aerie or even Limbo. It was "outside" of normal perception of space and time and it was a "SAFE PLACE" for Alison, as it had been for Hecate and Persephone in the distant past when THEY were young friends. ::

:: Xavier would smell the fresh, sweet air, he would see the perfect night sky and stars far above the leafy canopies of the trees. There were little faeries that glowed and flitted about them. It was a very mysterious, but comforting place. Xavier ALSO found himself on the ground! With Alison over him, STRADDLING HIM, pinning his arms down.::

You are more than what you seem. But so am *I* and I'm TIRED of people trying to tell me that I'm NOT...or that they have me and what I do "ALL FIGURED OUT".

You wanted to keep company with me?

:: Her colbalt blue eyes stare into his eyes::

SHOW me why I shouldn't cast you out right now?

 

[Tachyon]

It was a great night. Good company, alcohol, dancing, fun all around. They ended up on a balcony...cozy, breezy but not cold somehow.

Xavier, it has beeen quite fun this evening...

:: She looks away, before holding out her hand and TELEBLINKING HIM into her GRASP as she holds him by his collar::
But i DO think you get a little too big for your britches and that you're NOT accustomed to someone who can KEEP UP with you!
:: walking forward, forcing him to walk back, she casually pushes him down into a chair and stands over him::

Your quick thinking and ability to reason earn you favor, but DON'T think that your CHARM will allow you to bowl ME over!

Let's go somewhere....ELSE. My secret garden, perhaps?

You lead the wa---y?!

And before he knew it, they were....somewhere else. If one could imagine the Garden of Eden in it finest glory combined with fantastic characters, faerun, constellation placements that made no sense, did not exist on Earth itself! And he was on the ground, straddled by Alison as she held his hands down. Someone liked to be on top....

You are more than what you seem. But so am *I* and I'm TIRED of people trying to tell me that I'm NOT...or that they have me and what I do "ALL FIGURED OUT".

You wanted to keep company with me?

:: Her colbalt blue eyes stare into his eyes::

SHOW me why I shouldn't cast you out right now?

Quickly slipping one hand from her grasp, the speedster leans up and grasps her head, pulling her into a kiss. He does not try to hold it long but he makes certain that by the time he breaks it, she is leaning into HIM.

How is that for a start? I am not interested in deciphering you Alison, unless that is what they call it in the states now. I am interested in enjoying the company of a beautiful raven-haired woman with pure blue eyes.

By now Xavier has both of his hands on Alison's bottom and in one practised move he rolls over, laying between her legs as he leans in and kisses her again, caressing her face with one hand and her leg with the other as the wee faeries giggle in anticipation of what comes next...

 

[Harbinger]

The enchanted forest

I am interested in enjoying the company of a beautiful raven-haired woman with pure blue eyes.

By now Xavier has both of his hands on Alison's bottom and in one practised move he rolls over, laying between her legs as he leans in and kisses her again, caressing her face with one hand and her leg with the other as the wee faeries giggle in anticipation of what comes next...

:: Alison grips Xavier and pulls HIM up to her. Her face is enshrouded in shadow, her colbalt blue eyes glowing::

Come close...

:: She says in a tone with an unusual haunting resonance as the dark skies above seem to be "spinning" clockwise::


:: Alison pulls Xavier into a passionate kiss and embrace and soon, their minds and bodies take over::

:: Their own unique natures working together to provide the ultimate experience...slow at times, wild, fast and blurring at others...their powers working to enhance each other's experience::

:: and the forest around them seems to turn, churn and flow with them. it is the ultimate symphony of passion and nature as Alison's SIGH can be heard in the winds among the leaves of the trees::

::in this place...time has no bearing...and that makes ALL the difference as they share, experience and ENJOY each other.::

 

[Black Widow]

He invited her in and offered her a sandwich. She gladly accepted, firstly because it'd give them something to do, a task to distract them so they didn't have to just STARE at each other. Secondly, she was actually hungry, and she LOVED sandwiches. He asked her how her night had been, and she gave him an exasperated look like 'you don't even WANT to know'.

Alone time with Karen, alone time in a car with tense Nicolas, alone time mentally with Malice, and then the alone feeling of pregnant silence of the group car ride with Nic, Rich and Isis, followed by the threat of alone time with HERSELF.

"I went from one form of torture to another."

Cam: I'm glad you showed up tonight..looks like we haven't totally lost the ability to communicate with each other. Good to know.

"Yeah, I guess this isn't so bad after all. I wouldn't add it to the list of tonight's torture trials, so that's something."

She replied with an easy smile. Thankfully, it wasn't weird. A good battle had a way of wiping the slate clean, and the awkwardness they'd been mired in since her impulsive kiss had been washed in the blood of purifiers. It almost felt like the good old days, when they were just two people with similiar interests and only half the baggage.

She stood by his side, piling up her own sandwich, reaching for whatever she needed, neither TRYING to accidently brush him, nor trying to avoid it. She focused on just completing the task, and not assigning too much meaning to any one action. For once they managed to be near each other with dissecting every breath. He spoke of his wounds, and lifted his shirt, revealing long stripes across his skin, partially healed. Marks that Justice had left him with.

"Heh, it looks BADASS. Did you see mine?"

She asked, and turned. Her dress had a low scooping, almost backless arrangement, and much of her back could be plainly seen.

"As good as new. Isis didn't leave a single skin cell damaged. It's lamentable, really. Remember my old body? Before the Six, and all these magickal healers, I mean. Back when I used to get stitches, or staples, or splints. Bullet holes, blade marks, the squiggly little stars that shrapnel makes. Souveniers of LIFE itself. Every scar told a story, every story ended in triumph. Now I can get healed in an instant, and it's like it never happened. The pain is gone, the scar never forms. The stories can no longer be seen."

Cameron: I'm just glad we all made it out okay..and by okay..I mean alive. I didn't realize the effect that woman would have on me..it took me to a place I hadn't been in a long time...

A dark place, she knew. She'd seen it in his eyes, and been grateful. Not just because it meant she'd been RIGHT about the old Cameron still lurking underneath the veneer, but because to get through the shit he'd been through, he NEEDED the old Cameron.... and secretly, so did SHE.

"Well I hope you aren't feeling guilty or ashamed or whatever. That's the beast that keeps you alive, Cameron. That's reason YOU, and Cass too, are still here to drink and party and make sandwiches. Without that... I don't even want to think about what would have happened."

 

[Prophet]

The Parthenon Hotel - Top Floor

Haleigh: "As good as new. Isis didn't leave a single skin cell damaged. It's lamentable, really. Remember my old body? Before the Six, and all these magickal healers, I mean. Back when I used to get stitches, or staples, or splints. Bullet holes, blade marks, the squiggly little stars that shrapnel makes. Souveniers of LIFE itself. Every scar told a story, every story ended in triumph. Now I can get healed in an instant, and it's like it never happened. The pain is gone, the scar never forms. The stories can no longer be seen."

[Cameron nodded as he bit into his sandwich]

"That's why I wouldn't let her touch me. You know how I feel about magick users in general..and i've come to learn that we NEED scars. Be them physical, emotional or whatever. They make sure we don't forget. They make us stronger."

The two had a lull in conversation beffore he mentioned that seeing Sister Mary Justice had taken him to a place he hadn't dared visit in a long time. That unbridled and uncaring kind of pompous man that tore through people with vicious words and the true grit that only a telepath could muster. In finding that Cameron in the cathedral, it allowed him to survive. It had been the first time he had been able to reconcile who he had been with who he was and use that to his benefit. It was a big moment for him, but it wasn't easy. He had taken the lid off the bottle and though he was in such a better place in his life, he had found himself fighting those base instincts of who he was. The man that Haleigh knew more intimately than anybody else.

Haleigh: "Well I hope you aren't feeling guilty or ashamed or whatever. That's the beast that keeps you alive, Cameron. That's reason YOU, and Cass too, are still here to drink and party and make sandwiches. Without that... I don't even want to think about what would have happened."

Cameron stared at Haleigh for a second intensely before putting his food down. It was now or never. They couldn't always be making sandwiches. SOMETHING needed to happen between them. Something that would either move them forward together or separate them in the RIGHT way..a way that would still let them be responsible for the choices they made and a way that would let them be the people that the team desperately needed them to be.

"Haleigh..."

"Now or never..."

"You were right about me, you know...that's why you're so frustrating..."

As Haleigh looked confused he began to walk closer to her. Every step he took the electric charge that the two of them felt everytime they were in the same room as each other began to thicken and become more intense...like walking into a static field. He eyed Haleigh with a dark curiousity as he moved forward.

"That Cameron King only YOU know..that deep...dark son of a bitch. The man that could kill without so much as a second thought. The man that didn't care about nearly ending the world so much as he cared about watching Morgan finally breaking against the pressure of the one thing she refused to believe could break her? A man?"

[intensely]

"He's still HERE...being held captive..AGAIN..it helped me realize that. I tried to leave him in that cathedral but I couldn't..."

A dark smiled pursed across his lips as he was now standing a mere inches away from Haleigh's face. As he spoke, Haleigh could feel the warmth of his breath on her face, desperately close to her lips. His body had grown in the past few years. The places where he had once been thin and lean were now places of muscle and fullness. The cuffs of his sleeves clinging tightly to his biceps. He lifted his hand as he brushed it down Haleigh's cheek slowly and deliberately.

"You were the only one who ever understood that part of me. That reckless abandon. And I understood it in you..."

His hand continued to run down Haleigh's body.

[her neck]

"That deep..."

[the top of her chest]

"Dark..."

[grazing past her breast]

"Beautiful place..."

He pulled his hand away. Both of them were lost in a moment, speaking a verbal and non verbal language that only the two of them could ever possibly understand. For all the time they had spent apart and felt disjointed...in THIS moment? Cameron had opened the door...a door that was almost TOO dangerous to open.

"I live with him everyday...he sits in my head and he talks. And the things he says, Haleigh?"

Cameron's face was now dangerously in the ridge of Haleigh's neck. His lips barely touching her neck as he spoke in a low and dark tone, every word sending chills down Haleigh's spine and giving her goosebumps throughout her body.

"He's the one that wants me to tell Alycia to '**** off'...to grab that pistol you keep nestled right on the inside of your thigh and tease you with it's cold steel all over your body...in places that would make even YOU take pause..."

[he kissed her neck]

"He's the one that tells me I should say '**** off' to all of them, pack my bags...make a quick stop at The Hellfire Club, watch Diana's skull crush under the weight of my foot and never look back..."

Cameron leered up for a moment as they were now face to face again, their noses touching, their eyes locked in an incredibly powerful and paralytic gaze at one another. After a few seconds that felt like MINUTES he leaned into her.

"He's also the one that you don't want to let go of...isn't he..."

[leaning in he whispered into her ear]

"Haleigh..."

Cameron lifted Haleigh up by her legs and propped her onto the table next to them as he leaned into her, no space being left between their bodies.

"Zach might be the love of your life, Haleigh...but ME?"

[into her ear once again]

"I'm your soulmate."

"You wanted him...here he is. Right in front of you. That Cameron King you so desperately wish I was again.."

[their gaze met again JUST as intensely as before]

"Now what are you going to do about it?"

This was it. He had put the cards on the table. He had presented Haleigh with what she had been wanting from him for a long time...and vice versa. Cameron was hoping that Haleigh would be strong enough to do the right thing and realize that who they were now was more important..to EVERYBODY around them than the feelings they had left unspoken. However, there was a deep part of him..despite everything he had accomplished, despite how much progress he had made..that wanted Haleigh so desperately that it hurt. He wanted to take her..to have her in the way she wanted him to. He had finally crossed the line and made it clear..and the ball was in HER court..the only question that remained was what he had just said to her. What WAS she going to do about it?

 

[Black Widow]

They grabbed their plates and moved from the kitchen counter to the table. Haleigh set her plate down and was about to pull out her chair when he spoke again.

Cam: Haleigh...

Something in the way he said her name stopped her cold. A new inflection in his tone, or some other kind of fluctuation that she sensed, made her slowly turn to meet his gaze.

Cam: You were right about me, you know...that's why you're so frustrating...

OH kaaaaaaay.......??

She thought, as he advanced on her with an expression she hadn't seen on his face in quite some time. She could feel her heartbeat quickening as he elaborated.

Cameron: That Cameron King only YOU know..that deep...dark son of a bitch. The man that could kill without so much as a second thought. The man that didn't care about nearly ending the world so much as he cared about watching Morgan finally breaking against the pressure of the one thing she refused to believe could break her? A man? [intensely] He's still HERE...

"I'm glad to hear it. It's the only way people like US survive the SHIT."

She was almost repeating herself, or at least reiterating what she'd JUST said, but she couldn't be expected to come up with something more articulate than that right now. He had moved quite close to her. Close enough that she could feel the heat coming off his body. And what a distracting body it was. Harder than she remembered. She wasn't sure she WANTED to back up, but she did know that she couldn't. She leaned back against the table behind her, placing her hands on the edge, crossing one ankle over the other. He reached up and touched her, and she briefly closed her eyes, wishing that her heart wouldn't skip beats the way it did.

Cam: You were the only one who ever understood that part of me. That reckless abandon. And I understood it in you...

He lowered his hand, but not by pulling back. Rather, he deliberately teased her as he continued.

Cam: That deep...Dark...Beautiful place..."

She searched his eyes for some indication, some hint that this was not going where she thought it was going, where she HOPED it was going.

"Cameron....... this is DANGEROUS......."

But he was not backing off, he was leaning in, placing his hands on the table on either side of her, daring her to move, with any movement on her part only serving to reconnect them again. The sexual tension held her in place. She couldn't even think of something clever to say. She couldn't even THINK of anything except the smell of his cologne and the way his shirt stretched over his chest as he breathed.

Cameron: I live with him everyday...he sits in my head and he talks. And the things he says, Haleigh?

He was talking into her neck now, she could feel his lips moving as he spoke. She could feel her own body responding, with chills and goosebumps and an overwhelming arousal. She couldn't be expected to withstand to much more of THIS.

Cameron: He's the one that wants me to tell Alycia to '**** off'...to grab that pistol you keep nestled right on the inside of your thigh and tease you with it's cold steel all over your body...in places that would make even YOU take pause...

"Cameron........"

She whispered as he kissed her neck. He might as well have electrocuted her. She thought of him doing instead of talking, fantasized him taking that weapon and the way it might feel when he jerked it from her holster. She finally moved, putting her hands on his chest, but she didn't push him away. She couldn't make herself do it.

Cameron: He's the one that tells me I should say '**** off' to all of them, pack my bags...make a quick stop at The Hellfire Club, watch Diana's skull crush under the weight of my foot and never look back...

He pulled back a little, made eye contact with her. She held it, and her breath.

Cameron: He's also the one that you don't want to let go of...isn't he... [leaning in he whispered into her ear] Haleigh...

"Yeeesss??"

He grabbed her then, lifting her by her thighs, pushing against her, moving her onto the table, leaving no distance between them. Could she breathe, or was she just forgetting to? She had long since forgotten her headache.

Cameron: Zach might be the love of your life, Haleigh...but ME? [into her ear once again] I'm your soulmate. You wanted him...here he is. Right in front of you. That Cameron King you so desperately wish I was again..[their gaze met again JUST as intensely as before] Now what are you going to do about it?

It wasn't a question as much as it was a challenge, and she wasn't the kind of woman who backed down from a challenge. He had done a lot of talking...... but there was more than ONE way to communicate. The buttons popped off his shirt and hit the floor like skittles as she effortlessly pulled his shirt open. She wrapped her legs around his waist and slipped her hands up his neck, then kissed him like she'd been waiting years to do it.

She could feel his fingertips traveling up her spine, unclasping the neck of her dress, grabbing a fistful of her hair, sliding his other hand up her thigh........

They were going to finally go through with it.

And it is going to hurt.

She shoved him back. For a second they just stared at each other, equal parts disheveled clothing, and labored breathing.

"I've made THIS mistake BEFORE. I didn't get what I wanted THEN, and I won't get it this time either."

She pulled herself off the table and brushed her hair out of her eyes, one hand holding up the front of her dress.

I am going to fuccking hate myself for this.....

"I have ALWAYS wanted this. I have always wanted YOU, to say and do exactly THIS...... but you know what I DON'T WANT? To look at your girlfriend after I've fuccked YOU, and know that she was RIGHT, about me, about my shortcomings, about EVERYTHING. And I DON'T WANT to look at Zach, and THAT betrayal, and the heartbreaking way he will UNDERSTAND, because inexplicably he's been waiting for this to happen. And I don't want........ to look at the faces of my family, knowing that they are disappointed, but not really all that surprised, because it's just SO LIKE ME to self destruct on YOU."

She shook her head and smiled. The headache was back, replacing the throb of lust she'd been consumed by only moments before.

"The others look up to us now, Cameron. They expect us to lead them to do the RIGHT things and make the RIGHT choices. The truth is....... They need the NEW you a lot more than I need the OLD you."

She paused with a look that was absolutely pained.

"Some day....... I hope you and I will reconnect..... when it's the RIGHT time, and there's no chance of us hurting any one but ourselves. That day...... I will get what I want. THAT day will be worth the wait, if there is any balance in this universe."

She didn't know what hurt worse, the heartbreaking act of shutting him down when she was pretty sure it was her last chance with him..... or the fact that her head felt like it was splitting in HALF. She brushed past him. She had to get out of here. She couldn't black out half dressed in front of him. She needed to get to Karen before she had the next vision.

 

[Seer]

<< Resisting temptation can sometimes require more strength than a person knows they have and even though they succeed, there is STILL a cost.>>

<< Black Widow rushes out of Cameron's apartment. Suddenly the certainty she had just a few hours EARLIER when facing MALICE seemed like an ILLUSION.>>

<< She needed to get to Shadow Weaver. She felt herself CHECKING OUT. A BLACK OUT was coming!>>

<< Karen and Michael lay sleep in bed, when suddenly a crystal on Karen's night stand began to hum, glow and PULSE. the noise grew LOUDER as Karen bolted upright and looked at it.>>

<< This was one of the crystals Karen had used to run tests and scans on Haleigh. It was attuned to her vitals now and it was set to go off if she was reaching the point where an EPISODE would occurr!>>

<< In the twinkling of the doctor's eyes, she disappears from her bed, appearing beside a visibly shaken and struggling Haleigh. In an uncharacteristic display, the hybrid reaches out to Karen with a look on her face that says it all.>>

<< Karen notes Haleigh's state of dress and other aspects of her appearence, but focuses on the paramount issue. She supports Haleigh, holding on her to her as she transports them to her temporary office and helps her over the couch>>

Shadow Weaver: Don't worry, Haleigh. I'm here...and I'll help you...

<< the doctor hurridly gestures, summoning the crystals to form a pentagram of energy around Haleigh. The episode...the black out was going to happen at ANY TIME NOW. WHAT would Karen SEE!?>>

-------------------------------------
<< Cameron is left REELING from the sudden and jarring moment of Haleigh's disengagemenet and FLEEING from him!>>

<< But even as HE begins to readjust, he is confronted with ANOTHER unexpected development.>>

<< SHARON KELLY is standing in the open doorway of his apartment. She'd heard EVERYTHING, saw the last MOMENTS of something DARK unfolding between Cameron and Haleigh.>>

-------------------------------------

<< Restless hearts and minds; secrets, passions, issues and more...all of these things swirled and flowed around the parthenon this night as the Six did the things they ALWAYS did.>>

<< But one person who was NOT apart of it all now was Vivica Lennox. She didn't even return to Cameron after the confrontation she had with Alison Marble.>>

<< Win or Lose, she had set out to accomplish what was IMPORTANT to her, and she'd done that.>>

<< But even though she wasn't afraid...she still wasn't WHOLE. NOT YET! and it seemed NOW, the final, perhaps most important piece that she had tried to capture, had just moved away from her grasp.>>


<< She LEFT the Parthenon, for the LAST TIME as she was concerned.>>


<< But before she could get too far, eldritch chimes sound off and her very next step is into a STEPPING DISC that opens beneath her on the ground and in that surprising instant, she is TELEPORTED AWAY!>>


<< Time and Space are NEGATED as she arrives at Cameron King's Pacific Pallisades property! Her own cognition and common sense told her that Spellbinder's power signature was a stepping disc, but all reports indicated that SHE was OFF WORLD. Or was she? OR maybe Vivica was not in the ACTUAL ocean cliff villa, but some astral manifestation of it?>>

<< As the brief disorientation that comes over people who do not often teleport via stepping disc begins to wear off, she begins to wonder just WHY she's here and what might be coming for her?>>

 

[Black Widow]

Haleigh stumbled through the hall and into the elevator. The doors closed as she stared at the buttons without knowing what to push or where to go, so consumed by the riptide of emotions she was trying to deal with, those that she'd tried so hard NOT to deal with. She felt so incredibly broken, of heart AND mind.

What had just happened between her and Cameron-- what she had STOPPED from happening-- was the consummation of YEAR of compounded desire. She was surprised at herself, really. She never thought she'd be capable of denying Cameron anything he asked of her, and up until about five minutes ago, she'd NEVER wanted to deny him sex. Quite the opposite, in fact. She'd thought of several things she wanted to do to him, and it never mattered who he was with at the time, or her own status with Zach.

But it was more than just lust between them. Physical attraction was easy to deal with, easy to entertain and overcome. The feelings she had for Cameron struck her like lightning when he was around, whether she wanted them to or not. She couldn't just STOP them from happening, she couldn't just turn them off or lock them down like anything else. He inspired a depth of feeling within her that couldn't be ignored or shut down. She could hear his voice in her head. She could hear him saying it: 'I'm your soulmate.' Somewhere in that deep, dark, beautiful place he spoke of, she knew it to be true..... and the realization of it, the weight of accepting it, broke her heart.

It was somehow worse than the throbbing pressure in her head, but she could feel the pain building. The blackout would happen soon. Karen appeared in the elevator with her.

"Karen! I... I need your help. I just...."

Karen: Don't worry, Haleigh. I'm here...and I'll help you...

Karen took her back to the office and quickly set everything up. For once, Haleigh wasn't in extreme danger when the blackout occured. That didn't mean she wasn't operating under extreme duress.

************

She stood over the boy on the gurney, staring down at him coldly. So this was the future Super Soldier. He didn't look like much. Zeus and Frankenstein were both here, trying to solve the riddle of where they were going wrong. Their investor was here also, and they remind her of the three stooges, bumbling in their idiocy.

Zeus: "We need more funding, Stavros.

Frankenstein: "His body is more resistant than we anticipated. We need to increase our efforts."

Stavros: "He was always trouble...even now. Consider it done."

Frankenstein, a dark haired man, tall and handsome, moved away from the gurney and opened a cabinet of medicine. She followed him, intending to get an aside where she could manipulate him. Zeus, a man with dirty blond hair, medium height and build, picked up a medical clipboard and came over as well. She looked up at them both.

"His body is not the problem. It's his mind. He's holding onto himself and his connections too tightly."

Frankenstein: Are you offering your expertise??

Zeus: Yes, if you could break his mind--

"It's not a question of CAN I."

Zeus: Will you, then?

Frankenstein called Stavros back over for another conference, as she stared at the boy on the gurney dissociatively.

------

Haleigh snapped back with a gasp and half a sob. She had, for the first time, recognized someone in her flash. She had been staring dissociatively at Patrick, her first love. The only man she'd ever been faithful to. Not the first loss, and certainly not the last, but it had been one of the worst losses she'd suffered. One of the things that made Haleigh who she was and why. But if that had been Patrick, then this time.... She could not have been herself. Or at least, she was not experiencing her OWN memory.

At least she knew NOW that she didn't have multiple personalities battling themselves for dominance. However, there was still a possibility that a cross time alternate of herself had somehow played a part..... and forced events that made Haleigh the way she was today.

But WHY? She didn't know..... but she herself had visited other timelines to correct mistakes or make improvements.

 

[Prophet]

The Parthenon Hotel - Top Floor

Their bodies were moving furiously over each other, like two wild predators who had finally satisfied their taste for blood after a long drought. It was everything he had imagined it would be, but it was bittersweet. He had presented the option to Haleigh hoping she would deny him..hoping that she would realize what a bad decision the two of them would be right now, but there she was. She was on his body, she was touching him. She was kissing him the way he had wanted her to for so long. His body was pulsing with electricity but even in this moment, even lost in the throngs of passion, he knew how terrible the situation was.

Haleigh: "I made THIS mistake BEFORE. I didn't get what I wanted THEN, and I won't get it this time either."

She pushed away from him as they stared somberly at one another. Cameron tried to catch his breath, his chest was heaving.

"I am going to fuccking hate myself for this..."

He thought to himself. A few months ago he had been the one to resist her. To try and get her to see that they couldn't continue to act like they had with each other for so long. He knew how much it had hurt her..and now he was in the same situation. The only saving grace he had was the fact that she had resisted. She let herself go for a moment..but she pulled back. For everything that one could say about Haleigh, if they could have seen this moment with objective eyes...they would realize just how far she had come. How far both of them had come.

Haleigh: "I have ALWAYS wanted this. I have always wanted YOU, to say and do exactly THIS...... but you know what I DON'T WANT? To look at your girlfriend after I've fuccked YOU, and know that she was RIGHT, about me, about my shortcomings, about EVERYTHING. And I DON'T WANT to look at Zach, and THAT betrayal, and the heartbreaking way he will UNDERSTAND, because inexplicably he's been waiting for this to happen. And I don't want........ to look at the faces of my family, knowing that they are disappointed, but not really all that surprised, because it's just SO LIKE ME to self destruct on YOU."

"It's the same for me...they trust me now, but I know they are all waiting for the other shoe to drop."

Haleigh: "The others look up to us now, Cameron. They expect us to lead them to do the RIGHT things and make the RIGHT choices. The truth is....... They need the NEW you a lot more than I need the OLD you. Some day....... I hope you and I will reconnect..... when it's the RIGHT time, and there's no chance of us hurting any one but ourselves. That day...... I will get what I want. THAT day will be worth the wait, if there is any balance in this universe."

It was what he wanted her to say. It was everything he was trying to show her by throwing caution to the wind and doing exactly what Cameron from seven years ago would have done. Take what he wanted with no regret. Then why did it still feel so bad? How had they gotten here? How could it possibly be THIS bad for the two of them to be together? Why couldn't anything between them just be easy?

"...I hope so too."

She was gone. Haleigh had left and he was alone. It had been the most electrifying few seconds of his life, but he felt like shit. He had crossed a line to prove a point to Haleigh..one that THANKFULLY, she got..but he still felt like shit. The reality of the situation was that while there was definitely selfish motivations behind it..he was trying to do SOMETHING to force a change in their dynamic for the sake of the team. Haleigh and Cameron were the only founding members left on the team. They were the ones who people were looking to. It was incredible irony. For so long they had been the "polish remover" of the team, the ones who threatened to tear it apart, and now they were both desperately trying to find way to keep it together. Cameron knew that after this...Haleigh would adjust. She would focus on what was important. Leading the team. She would focus on what she NEEDED to focus on..and it would give him the distance from her he needed in order to work on his relationship with Alycia.

He felt a pain in the pit of his stomach.

"Alycia..."

There was no way she would ever accept or belief his intentions behind what happened. In fact, she would most likely use this to highlight the point she had made in the bedroom down the hall a few months ago. That Haleigh and him couldn't be just friends. That there was always going to be something behind it. She was right..but that was why he had done it, in part. He needed to prove to Haleigh their old way of operating wouldn't work and he needed to scare her enough to get the space necessary for continued growth. None of that argument would hold up in court. Especially with Alycia as the prosecutor..but his reasons were his reasons. Nobody ever understood their connection and everyone had a bitter taste in their mouth because of it. This would just be yet ANOTHER reason that people could use to hold Cameron and Haleigh down, to reiterate to them that they were still awful people. No matter what their motivation, no matter what their intentions.

The hairs stood up on the back of his neck as he sensed something behind him. Exhaling in a knowing and deep way, he turned around to see SHARON KELLY standing in the doorway of his kitchen. He looked at her silver eyes as he took his shirt off all the way, and began to pick up the buttons from the floor mindlessly.

"Sharon..please. Not now.."

He was trying to pick the buttons up but they continued to slip through his fingers. He was getting frustrating.

"I was just trying..."

[button falls to the floor]

"to..make her.."

[button falls]

"DAMMIT!"

Cameron SLAMS his fist into the counter. He looked at her with a mixture of remorse and relief. The two of them hadn't spoken in quite some time. They shared an errant conversation on the phone now and then..but they had been brief. For awhile they had brought each other back into life when both of them showed up at Melrose Place. So much had changed, and they had only each other to get them through it. There was a level of respect and admiration between the two of them. But now? He wasn't sure she would have much nice to say about him. Not after what she had just seen.

"Sharon..I'm sorry. I know this looks bad..and you probably won't believe me, and I wouldn't blame you if you don't..but I DID have good itentions behind all [waving his hands in the air] of this..."

She was silent. This made him uncomfortable.

"Not that it's not good to see you..but what are you doing here? Is everything alright? You aren't necessary the type of woman to make social calls..not at this hour."

 

[Recall]

On The Way Home...

:: The cold air of the city was comforting as Vivica walked down the seemingly dead streets. The Purifiers had seemed to force most of the city into a self imposed lockdown. New York City was already a dangerous place, but now it seemed that nobody was safe. Normally this would bother her, but tonight she seemed to crave the solitude. Her return to the city had been one of mixed feelings. She had spent so much time away, in a place where she felt safe to be herself. With the help of Zach, she had been able to find a strength within that had been long lost and destroyed by her encounters with The Six. She had put an ocean between herself and her problems but the second she set foot back in Manhattan she found herself faced with a woman she thought she had left a long time ago. ::

:: When she accepted Cameron's offer to attend Blaze's party, she thought she was in a better place than she was. Then she was faced with all of these people. These people who walked all over her because she let them. People who were so filled with their own anguish at Erika's betrayal and Cameron's death that they left her for dead. They had thought so little of her for so long, and she let herself think that if she could just get their respect she would feel better. She took the insults and the marginalization and she still stood next to them. She went to Greece with the same intentions as everybody else. She had put herself on the line when she had a clear shot at Stavros. Then everything went black and she found herself bleeding out on the ground in the rain. It wasn't too much to ask of them to acknowledge her existence or to say "We messed up". But it was like pulling teeth. This had caused her to be even more on edge. Every valid point she thought she had they countered with something that seemed to absolve them from all accountability. She wasn't looking for them to throw themselves at her feet and apologize, she just wanted a SECOND of respect. Of acknowledgement that while she may not have been a part of the team, she definitely picked up slack, helped them keep their secrets and did what was asked of her when it was asked. None of that mattered and it seemed like too much time had passed for any of them to really care. There had been loss and death and destruction..but that was ALWAYS their cycle. That would never change. Not when they didn't seem to care about the widesweeping collateral damage they caused at every turn. ::

:: She tried to calm herself down. Vivica had said what she needed to. She didn't always get the response she was looking for but she had finally took a stand. They may have found it out of place or character, but that didn't matter. The only place she wanted to move was forward, and for now, she felt that she had found the resolve to do that. Whatever problems they had with what she had to say were THEIR problems not her, and she would no longer allow herself to be ruled by what The Six thought of her. She just hoped that with the revelation of this new team would humble them enough for them to realize that no matter what good they had done for the world, there were others out there who could be just as capable. Vivica may not have been able to bend steel with her hands or control the weather, but she didn't have to be able to do that in order to accomplish things. Her work with Clandestine and the battle with The Purifiers had taught her that. No matter how much of an emotional gauntlet her recconnection with The Six had been, it was for the best. She needed to revisit these things as who she was NOW, to show herself how far she had come and to realize where she still needed to work on things. ::

:: Vivica rounded the corner, headed straight towards the subway entrance when all of a sudden... ::

<< But before she could get too far, eldritch chimes sound off and her very next step is into a STEPPING DISC that opens beneath her on the ground and in that surprising instant, she is TELEPORTED AWAY!>>


<< Time and Space are NEGATED as she arrives at Cameron King's Pacific Pallisades property! Her own cognition and common sense told her that Spellbinder's power signature was a stepping disc, but all reports indicated that SHE was OFF WORLD. Or was she? OR maybe Vivica was not in the ACTUAL ocean cliff villa, but some astral manifestation of it?>>

<< As the brief disorientation that comes over people who do not often teleport via stepping disc begins to wear off, she begins to wonder just WHY she's here and what might be coming for her?>>

:: One moment she was in New York City and the next she was in Cameron King's Pacific Palisades home..just as she remembered it. But Cameron had sold that house LONG ago..once he realized that there would be no need for him to be closer to his sister Erika, and she was pretty sure she had just gone through a STEPPING DISC. ::

:: She wasn't confused...she was ANGRY. She stomped her feet and threw her hands in the air, knowing who was behind all of this. ::

"Goddamnit!"

[rolling her eyes]

"Morgan Victoria?! I'm REALLY not in the mood! At ALL! So can we just play the "Vivica you are wrong about Alison" game later?! Actually..can we NEVER play that game?! Now send me HOME!"

 

[Silver Swan]

Cameron's apartment

"Sharon..please. Not now.."


He was trying to pick the buttons up but they continued to slip through his fingers. He was getting frustrating.


"I was just trying..."


[button falls to the floor]


"to..make her.."


[button falls]


"DAMMIT!"


Cameron SLAMS his fist into the counter. He looked at her with a mixture of remorse and relief. The two of them hadn't spoken in quite some time. They shared an errant conversation on the phone now and then..but they had been brief. For awhile they had brought each other back into life when both of them showed up at Melrose Place. So much had changed, and they had only each other to get them through it. There was a level of respect and admiration between the two of them. But now? He wasn't sure she would have much nice to say about him. Not after what she had just seen.


"Sharon..I'm sorry. I know this looks bad..and you probably won't believe me, and I wouldn't blame you if you don't..but I DID have good itentions behind all [waving his hands in the air] of this..."


She was silent. This made him uncomfortable.


"Not that it's not good to see you..but what are you doing here? Is everything alright? You aren't necessary the type of woman to make social calls..not at this hour."

[ Sharon just watched as Cameron went through his process. One thing he wouldn't do, was try to LIE. He knew it would be pointless, since she could essentially act as a living POLYGRAPH, and he also remembered that the two of them had a unique understanding of each other.]

[ HE was more worried and upset about what she'd heard and seen than SHE was. YES, Alycia was her best friend, but if anyone understood how..."complex" personal relationships could be, it was Sharon. Her opinion on the subject of Cameron and Haleigh wasn't why she came here.]

[ When he finally settled, she came closer]

I came because I wanted to see you for myself, and to tell you I'm relieved that you're alive.

[ Ever since she'd been changed into a mutate, her voice had this unusual resonance about it now. For some it had been scarey, for Cameron, it had been intriguing, just one of the many NEW things about her to enjoy.]

I've felt lost...and in the time that feeling was at it's worst? You reached out to me like no one else could. I've come and gone several times, and each time I come back, I'm reminded just how AWFUL it is to contemplate carrying on without my husband or my son in this world. But being back in the Cathedral, the place where I married Robert...where Kyle was chistened....and where I ultimately was unleashed upon the city in the current form I now have, it made me want to leave AGAIN...and this time, NEVER return. I was going to go back to Themyscira and avoid "man's world" forever.

But Zachary, Alycia convinced me to stay.

Zachary has convinced me I can help people in the city I used to serve as the Senator. There are children like my son out there...like Katie...who need protection.

You and Cassandra were badly hurt by a Sister Mary Justice, a woman who was the sole survivor of MY attack on the cathedral. Rose lost 40 children. I can make sure that the NEXT "Mary" doesnt capture you and hurt you...I can better protect Katie and Rose's surviving children AS WELL as the others in the city who may need my help!

But in order to do that, I must leave you and the Six.

I came to tell you that I'm leaving the Parthenon and going with Zachary to join Oracle's team.

[ She didnt even address the subject of Haleigh and Cameron. She'd come to say goodbye to Cameron personally]

 

[Shadow Weaver]

The Parthenon- Karen's office

<< JUST as Karen had gotten Haleigh to the couch and then performed a QUICK set up, Haleigh became non responsive. She had blacked out!>>

<< Karen looked at Haleigh with concern but moved back, letting the crystals do their work, monitoring her vitals, her physical body and making sure the area around her was free of any sudden change.>>

<< Karen ALSO watched, as the EPISODE began to BROADCAST in full visual/stereo effect! She swallowed hard as her eyes widened>>

************

She stood over the boy on the gurney, staring down at him coldly. So this was the future Super Soldier. He didn't look like much. Zeus and Frankenstein were both here, trying to solve the riddle of where they were going wrong. Their investor was here also, and they remind her of the three stooges, bumbling in their idiocy.

Zeus: "We need more funding, Stavros.

Frankenstein: "His body is more resistant than we anticipated. We need to increase our efforts."

Stavros: "He was always trouble...even now. Consider it done."

Frankenstein, a dark haired man, tall and handsome, moved away from the gurney and opened a cabinet of medicine. She followed him, intending to get an aside where she could manipulate him. Zeus, a man with dirty blond hair, medium height and build, picked up a medical clipboard and came over as well. She looked up at them both.

"His body is not the problem. It's his mind. He's holding onto himself and his connections too tightly."

Frankenstein: Are you offering your expertise??

Zeus: Yes, if you could break his mind--

"It's not a question of CAN I."

Zeus: Will you, then?

Frankenstein called Stavros back over for another conference, as she stared at the boy on the gurney dissociatively.

------

Haleigh snapped back with a gasp and half a sob.

<< Karen jolted with a bit of a start herself as Haleigh regained consciousness.>>

by the DARK MOON...

<< She thought with dismay as she looked at her patient. That episode...that MEMORY she'd just broadcast, it was INDEED a memory...but not HER'S! And the men she saw? Well...ONE quite a bit of SIGNIFICANCE to Karen and she recognized BOTH of them.>>

<< She had to take this in STEPS with Haleigh. Obviously she'd been under an extreme level of stress/distress to bring on this black out. She didn't want to COMPOUND that, but there was DEFINITELY something to talk about here.>>

Haleigh...welcome back

<< Karen said in a reserved tone>>

My scans confirm that your vitals are normal for the body you are now in. Physically, you are okay.

Would you like to tell me what was going on BEFORE the onset of this latest black out? You had a pained expression on your face in the elevator and you looked quite upset, not to mention your clothes...

<< She waited for a few moments, hoping Haleigh wouldn't feel like she was being accused, but the Hybrid displayed a reluctance to answer that question and since there were other PRESSING things to discuss now, Karen just nodded and moved on.>>

Very well.

Thankfully, we were able to connect in time.

Your latest episode...it was very...telling.

In our last meeting, you told me you were experiencing what you thought were MEMORIES. We were attempting to establish a possible timeline in which these memories were set, along with trying to match/associate them with any places or people that make help this make sense.

<< She paused for a moment, looking at Haleigh>>

Haleigh, I RECOGNIZED those men in your episode. One of them was my HUSBAND, Christopher. The OTHER was Adam Chandler, Alexis Quartermaine's father. Are These are the same two men who have appeared in your other episodes?

<< She continued on...with a grim countenance>>

I ALSO recognized the voice of the woman they were talking to...regarding Patrick Phillips. It WASN'T yours.

<< Karen stopped for a moment. Her own mind was reeling from what she'd seen...>>

Haleigh, what you saw/broadcast...it was not possible that YOU were there for it. That was the beginning of the Super Soldier project. Patrick was kidnapped when you two were in college. and beside my husband and Alexis' father, along with Stavros Cassidine, there was one other person who played a prominent role in Patrick's destruction, particularly his MIND. The person they were talking to was not you. It was DIANA.

from the "first person" perspective that the episode was shown in...it appears as though you were reliving this event...from DIANA'S point of view.

<< Karen remain seated and studied Haleigh as she gave a chance to respond. In order for this to mean anything to her, she'd have to process it and repeat it back to Karen as SHE understood it. Any questions she might have, Karen would certainly try to answer.>>

<< From the original meeting they had, Karen noted certain things Haleigh described which had touched off feelings and associations in Karen's OWN mind. It made her stomach turn to think that it was possible but NOW she knew for certain that whatever Haleigh was experiencing in these blackouts had something to do with HER husband!>>

 

[Spellbinder]

Pacific Pallisades

"Goddamnit!"

[rolling her eyes]

"Morgan Victoria?! I'm REALLY not in the mood! At ALL! So can we just play the "Vivica you are wrong about Alison" game later?! Actually..can we NEVER play that game?! Now send me HOME!"

<< High heels can be heard clicking across the hard wood floor, making a slight echo in the spacious, mostly empty villa>>

<< Soon, the tall, leggy Morgan Victoria rounds a corner and now stands before Vivica.>>

<< It was still not clear if they were still on earth, if Morgan herself was actually there, OR if they were in Limbo with this being a manifestation that Morgan chose for Vivica's sake.>>

<< Spellbinder steps forward and looks at Vivica>>

Hello, Vivica.

<< speaking in that trademark icy voice she was known for>>

I'll be glad to send you home- OR any place ELSE you might like to go. I'd just like a little of your time, please.

I chose this place to bring you here and for me to appear before you because it's neutral ground. Significant things happened to both of us in times past in this place.

I know you're not in the mood...ANGRY even, so I won't insult you by offering pleasantries, Instead I'll just cut to the chase.

I didn't bring you here to discuss Alison. I brought you here because I've observed the struggle you're having...and I want to help. I want to stand in the gap for Cameron, the way he has for me with Delilah. He and Haleigh both are operating in leadership of the Six out of necessity. My time to return is fast approaching, but before that happens, there are a few things I MUST attend to. I want to start with you.

You mean so much to Cameron , and your history with him brought you into the riptide of the Six...and you've been hurt...terribly.

No one deserves that.

Your history with the Six is long...and painful...and as I was the leader of the Six for most of that time...the responsibility of that falls on me.

I can view ANY time or place through my scrying glass , and I HAVE looked back and literally reviewed some of your moments with the Six, and I cringe. You were treated badly and...in most cases, I don't know why. You were often looked over, neglected and at the time, it never seemed to occurr to us, but ignorance is not an excuse.


You have a perfect memory, so I don't need to highlight anything in particular with you. But the worst thing a person can experience is KNOWING something and trying to get others to listen...to BELIEVE...or understand and finding a deaf ear and a closed heart. That has been your experience too often, and in THAT, you have more in common with Alison than anyone might have thought.

But again, this isn't about Alison. This is about you.

I'm this world's Sorceress Supreme...and yet, there are some things not even MY power can address. I'm living through that right now with my...

<< Morgan chokes a bit...gulping as she "swallows" down a swell of emotion>>

...my best friend since childhood, Delilah Trelevan.

But YOU are also among my casualties.

Vivica...

I KNOW it's WAY LATE for this...but I'm SORRY for my failures regarding you, for the SIX'S failures regarding you. We should have pulled you in when Cameron was thought dead and made sure you were okay...SAFE. We didn't do that.

I don't know WHY it happened the way it did...but it did....and just like Sharon and Alycia, you WERE apart of our extended family...but you never did receive the proper treatment like they did.

You may not hear this from the others...but as the leader of the Six...I hope you'll hear it from me...and accept my SINCERE apology.

<< She holds out a well manicured hand in a sincere gesture>>

I COULD cast a spell on you to ERASE the memories of your trauma in greece, so that you DIDN'T have to have them in your mind forever...but I won't offer that to you. It's not what you need. I only said that to underscore MY sincere wish to take away at least SOME of the pain you've suffered. If there's anything you need or want...just tell me. Even if you tell me to fuck off, at least you'll have heard my words now, which were from the heart.

I regret what happened to you and I'm GLAD that you are alive and whole, and from what I've observed...better than ever! My SISTER has not been THIS happy in a long time, and I have you in large part to thank for that! Cameron will NEVER be able to articulate who you are to him. But he wouldn't know this world without you, Vivica.

He wouldn't be here now if you hadn't been there for him THEN. I know what Alison said to you, but there IS one thing she stated, that I'd like to highlight. Those of us in the Six...were called by destiny. We HAD to be apart of this because of things our parents/siblings or someone connected to us did. BUT, each of us had...NEEDED individuals to help us get where we needed to be -in some cases, SURVIVE long enough to realize our true destiny!. You were that person for Cameron. Your supporting role was VITAL. Every story and saga has it's tie -in. YOU are one of our most important tie-in's Vivica, and you always will be.

Now...you've got your own spin-off going and it's well deserved, but you will always be APART of the Six's story no matter what and without you, our book may have closed far sooner than it was meant to.

 

[Rampage]

It ended far less messy than he had believed it would. Malice was a huge bluff and no bite and so, after dropping Isis and Richard off and returning back to his suite at the Parthenon, Nicolas returned to some notes on a table he had and began writing again. Another night and still no solutions for the problem written there. Still no peace for his team on that front by his hand. Frowning after a half hour of contemplation, Nicolas steps out onto his balcony, clearing his mind. He had someone he did need to speak to more at length.

Dominique? I hope this is not a bad time. I was just wondering if you were OK is all...

It was clear that was not all but that is all that Nicolas wanted to begin with at this moment.

 

[Isis]

The Clocktower

:: Isis and Richard had settled into their temporary residence for the time being. It was a large, spacious multi-level suite with an adjoining unit for Richard. Indeed, Zizi had been most kind in providing these accomodations in the clocktower. Nicolas and Haleigh agreed to keep Isis' whereabouts a SECRET. When the time was right, she'd return to the Parthenon.::

:: It had been an eventful evening and while Dominique hadn't FEARED retalitation from Malice at the moment of her depearture, what happened AFTER that was truly anyone's guess. Dominique was no longer the Black Queen. No longer a member of the Inner Cirle or the Hellfire Club. She had PLENTY of resources when it came to finances and she was ISIS, but still...she DID feel like she'd LOST a part of herself this evening and beyond that, NOW she was as much a target of the Hellfire Club as any member of the Six. Once Malice finally became fully aware of Oracle and her emerging team, THEY would be targets too. She didn't FEAR Malice, but she DID respect the woman for the FORCE that she was. There was a REASON why they Six HAD to exist...and MALICE was a LARGE part of it. The woman had blighted ALL their lives and cast a shadow over the GLOBE via Mystech. When Dominique left, she sensed that Malice was throwing off ANY restraint that she'd allowd herself to be held by in the name of the TRUCE. SOMETHING was coming. ::

:: More than ANYTHING at the moment, Dominique wanted to EXHALE and enjoy the...RELIEF of NO LONGER being the buffer between the Six and the Hellfire Club. Some may have called it selfish, but she'd just had ENOUGH. She HAD outgrown the Sisterhood and she wanted to make her own way.::

:: After talking to Zizi privately for a while, the sorceress felt a bit more at ease about being in this place and allowed herself to settle a bit. Richard was asleep, thanks in part to a mild, gentle spell from Isis. He'd been SO riled up by Malice that he almost SNAPPED. He couldn't be blamed for it...Isis had shielded him from Malice for the majority of his time at the Hellfire Club. He didn't know just how dreadful she could be. For now, he needed to rest.::

:: Dominique herself stood by the fireplace, slowly tossing some papers into the fireplace as a large fire burned. A few leftovers from the Hellfire club...a few details and loose ends from William Stryker that would die right along with him.::

I arrived here...intent on destroying Nicolas to avenge my sister. I became the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club and the Star of the Parthenon. Now...I'm a guest of a young woman who's team I just agreed to join to HELP the people in this city.

My relationship with my nephew has been repaired...and I have a ward.

Have I gone MAD!?


I could have gone ANYWHERE. I have traveled the world...kept company with the elite and the unusual...I am ISIS. Why did I choose to REMAIN here??

:: She wondered aloud as the flames cast a glow over her pensive face::

Dominique? I hope this is not a bad time. I was just wondering if you were OK is all...

It was clear that was not all but that is all that Nicolas wanted to begin with at this moment.

:: Dominique inhaled and straightened up a bit as Nicolas reached out to her. ::

Hello, Nicolas.

:: She said in that cold tone of her's::

Kindly come HERE so that we may speak face to face.

 

[Rampage]

:: Dominique inhaled and straightened up a bit as Nicolas reached out to her. ::

Hello, Nicolas.

:: She said in that cold tone of her's::

Kindly come HERE so that we may speak face to face.

Very well.

Nicolas teleported to Dominique's suite, taking in the view of it as he walked over to where she stood.

You know, I could have arranged for discreet lodgings and protection for you and....Richard. You did not have to come here OR to the Parthenon had you wished.

But that was not really why he was agitated, and after another moment's silence, he finally got to it.

Why are you determined to continue to place yourself in harm's way with this...new group? It is one thing for you to help when it gets bad, but I am concerned about you doing this day in and day out.

He placed his hands lightly on her shoulders as he said this. It was clear that he was worried about her continued well-being.